Sedona, AZ: The premiere Arizona jazz festival is only a couple of weeks away and people state and nation wide are gearing up to attend. This six-day festival takes place in the beauty of northern Arizona’s red rock country and this year the Sedona Jazz on the Rocks Festival features more artists and more stages than ever before. A majority of that musical space will be occupied by many of Arizona’s finest jazz musicians.
“The level of jazz talent in Arizona doesn’t always get the awareness and the exposure it deserves,” said Sedona Jazz on the Rocks Executive Director Carol Golden. “We believe when this year’s Festival is over, that will have changed.”
A record 23 regional bands will back up the Festival’s showcase artists and stand in the spotlight on their own at free and ticketed events throughout Sedona during the annual jazzfest, September 23-28.
Drummer Dom Moio, whose band, Cinco de Moio & Salome will perform at 12:25 p.m., at the all-day Festival on Saturday, also will perform as part of the Tony Monaco Trio at 10:50 a.m., with Dom’s brother Bill on guitar. Monaco will take the lead on his B-3 organ.
“It is everyone in the band that makes a difference,” said drummer Clarence Penn, who backed up vocalist Melissa Walker at the SJOR Sunday Brunch Concert two years ago.
Every Sedona Jazz on the Rocks event this year will have music, including the opening-night screening of Trying to Get Good: The Jazz Odyssey of Jack Sheldon, with a pre-film dinner appearance at 5 p.m., at Reds at
Sedona Rouge by Steve Sandner on piano and vocals and
Steve Douglas on bass. Sandner and Douglas will be back at Reds at 9 p.m. that night for a free concert as part of Soundscape Sedona with Rob Carey. Carey plays trumpet, Kevin McQuaid drums and Susannah Martin provides vocals for the group.
